The Young Offenders Act: A Revolution in Canadian Juvenile Justice

1992 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 232
Author(s):  
J. Thomas Dalby ◽  
Alan W. Leschied ◽  
Peter G. Jaffe ◽  
Wayne Willis
Keyword(s):  
Juvenile Justice ◽  
Young Offenders ◽  
Young Offenders Act

Examining the Needs of Youth in Secure Custody: Why We Need to “Recreate the Wheel” in Canadian Juvenile Justice*

1989 ◽  
Vol 34 (7) ◽  
pp. 675-679
Author(s):  
Alan W. Leschied ◽  
Ken E. Thomas
Keyword(s):  
Juvenile Justice ◽  
Personal Characteristics ◽  
Young Offenders ◽  
Young Offender ◽  
Considerable Variability ◽  
Rehabilitation Treatment ◽  
History Data ◽  
Background History ◽  
Young Offenders Act

The current study reviews the personal characteristics of 32 consecutive admissions to a secure custody centre in one southwest Ontario jurisdiction under the Young Offenders Act. Results indicated that there was considerable variability amongst the group regarding court history and the seriousness of the charge on which committal was made. Background history data suggested that the problems of youths committed to secure custody reflect considerable difficulties within families and school. The discussion questions whether the youths in this group are better served through the dispositions emphasizing custody-deterrence or rehabilitation-treatment. Implications for young offender policy are also presented.

The Young Offenders Act and Juvenile Justice in the United States: Perspectives on Recent Reform Proposals

1991 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 45-63 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher P. Manfredi
Keyword(s):  
Juvenile Justice ◽  
The United States ◽  
Individual Responsibility ◽  
Young Offenders ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
Recent Reform ◽  
Legislative Reforms ◽  
Juvenile Justice Policy ◽  
State Legislative ◽  
Young Offenders Act

Abstract Recent proposals to reform the Young Offenders Act have sought to address the difficult question of the proper response to youth who commit especially serious offences. This article evaluates these proposals from the perspective or recent developments in US juvenile justice policy that have also been designed to meet serious and chronic youth criminality. The article suggests that a series of US state legislative reforms, in which individual responsibility and system accountability replace rehabilitation as the dominant objective of juvenile justice policy, offers a comprehensive, if imperfect, model for reform.

Practicing in France What Americans Have Preached: The Response of French Judges to Juveniles

1988 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 467-485 ◽  
Author(s):  
James C. Hackler
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
North America ◽  
Juvenile Justice ◽  
Due Process ◽  
Group Home ◽  
Young Offenders ◽  
Community Settings ◽  
World War ◽  
The Public ◽  
Young Offenders Act

Despite a downturn in delinquency in North America, juvenile justice systems and the public act as if there has been an increase in delinquency. Calls for “get-tough” policies are common and the system is responding accordingly. The recent Canadian Young Offenders Act also reflects this theme. However, most criminologists argue for keeping juveniles in normal community settings, and France may have accomplished what these scholars have been recommending since World War II. Relatively few youths are placed in closed custody. When a juvenile is being helped, the notion of punishment is set aside. For example, if a juvenile leaves a group home it is not an offense. Incarceration is not used when a youth fails to obey administrative rules. This paternalistic system pays minimal attention to due process, but it may avoid the negative aspects of North American systems while providing services that are utilized more effectively.

A Critique of the Principles of the Young Offenders Act*

1987 ◽  
Vol 32 (6) ◽  
pp. 440-443 ◽  
Author(s):  
George A. Awad
Keyword(s):  
Juvenile Justice ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Due Process ◽  
Unique Feature ◽  
Juvenile Justice System ◽  
Legal Rights ◽  
Young Offenders ◽  
Clinical Process ◽  
Therapeutic State ◽  
Young Offenders Act

A unique feature of the Young Offenders Act is a section on the Principles of the Act. The principles clearly focus on the responsibility of young offenders, their legal rights, and the protection of society. The focus on the due process of the law is a welcome addition to the Juvenile Justice system. However, these principles do not recognize any other rights for adolescents, downgrade the importance of their needs, and do not take into account the cognitive, psychological and social functioning of adolescents. In addition, the principles implicitly reverse those important principles that have guided our society and the clinical process for more than a century; namely, a shift from a “therapeutic state” to a “legalistic state”, the roles of institutions in our society, and the adultomorphization of adolescence.

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